The present invention relates to wood gathering vehicles, and more particularly to a wood gathering a compaction vehicle.
Known wood gathering vehicle assemblies are of the type having a powered tractor unit pulling a trailer provided with a storage bin. The bin is opened at its top portion. Tree limbs are picked up from the ground with a suitable clamping device provided on a powered articulated arm which is attached to the vehicle. The tree limbs are thus simply stacked in the trailer storage bin, to be conveyed to a suitable remote location. A problem with this conventional wood gathering method is that it is not space-efficient, in that the wood stacked in the storage bin occupies an important volume for a limited effective wood quantity.
An alternate known way of gathering wood in a more space-efficient manner is to use a shredder in which the tree limbs are fed. The shredder shreds the tree limbs into wood chips which are stored in a storage bin. This is of course highly space-efficient since little volume is wasted with the very small wood chips. However, a problem with this method of gathering wood is that all the tree components are shredded into wood chips, notwithstanding their nature. Thus, it is not possible afterwards to recuperate separately the tree trunks which can be used to make wood planks, the tree bark, leaves and pine cones which can be recuperated for their essences, and so on. Moreover, wood from trees of different types is used for different purposes according to each tree""s particular characteristics, as is know in the art. Thus, recuperating wood from all tree types and shredding it into a same storage bin often obliges one to use these wood chips solely for burning, whereas tree limbs which would be recuperated in a way that allows the tree limbs to be used separately would advantageously yield different uses for the different tree types and tree portions.
The present invention relates to a wood gathering and compaction vehicle comprising:
a vehicle frame movable over ground;
a storage bin removably installed on said vehicle frame, said storage bin having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
releasable bin attachment means for releasably attaching said storage bin to said vehicle frame; and
a compactor fixedly installed on said vehicle frame, said compactor having an inner chamber, an opened inlet port for allowing wood to be inserted into said compactor inner chamber, an outlet port communicating with said storage bin inlet opening when said storage bin is installed on said vehicle frame, and a compaction device for allowing wood located in said compactor inner chamber to be forcibly moved from said compactor inner chamber into said storage bin through said compactor outlet port and said storage bin inlet opening.
The invention further relates to a wood gathering and compaction vehicle comprising:
a vehicle frame movable over ground;
driving means carried by said frame for allowing said wood gathering and compaction vehicle to be moved over ground;
a storage bin removably installed on said vehicle frame, said storage bin having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
releasable bin attachment means for releasably attaching said storage bin to said vehicle frame;
a powered articulated arm attached to said vehicle frame, said articulated arm comprising an outer free end provided with a clamping device thus movable about said wood gathering and compaction vehicle; and
a compactor fixedly installed on said vehicle frame, said compactor having an inner chamber, an opened inlet port for allowing wood picked up by said clamping device to be inserted into said compactor inner chamber, an outlet port communicating with said storage bin inlet opening when said storage bin is installed on said vehicle frame, and a compaction device for allowing wood located in said compactor inner chamber to be forcibly moved from said compactor inner chamber into said storage bin through said compactor outlet port and said storage bin inlet opening.
According to one embodiment, the wood gathering and compaction vehicle comprises a tractor unit and a trailer releasably hitched to said tractor unit, said vehicle frame being formed of a tractor unit frame and a trailer frame respectively located on said tractor unit and on said trailer, with said driving means being carried by said tractor unit frame, and with said compactor and said storage bin being carried by said trailer frame.
According to one embodiment, said powered articulated arm is carried by said tractor unit frame.
According to one embodiment, said compaction device comprises a carriage member defining first and second walls, and power means to selectively move said carriage member between a first limit position in which said carriage member clears said compactor inlet port for allowing tree limbs to be dropped through said compactor inlet port into said compactor inner chamber; and a second limit position in which said first wall blocks said compactor inlet port and said second wall is adjacent said compactor outlet port, said carriage member second wall being destined to push tree limbs from said compactor inner chamber into said storage bin through said compactor outlet port and said storage bin inlet opening when said carriage member moves from said first to said second position.
According to one embodiment, said clamping device comprises a powered clamping jaw and a cutting member for cutting tree limbs clamped within said clamping jaw.
According to one embodiment, said compactor inlet port is funnel-shaped.
According to one embodiment, either one of (a) said compactor, (b) said storage bin and (c) an assembly including said compactor and said storage bin, comprises blade members located near said compactor outlet port for cutting tree limbs extending within and beyond said outlet port when said carriage member is in its second limit position.
According to one embodiment, said storage bin comprises near its inlet opening plate members which do not significantly hinder the tree limb movement from said compactor into said storage bin, while hindering tree limb movement from said storage bin towards said compactor.
The present invention further relates to a method of gathering tree limbs in situ, comprising the following steps:
picking up tree limbs with a suitable clamping device;
dropping the tree limbs into an inner chamber of a compactor;
stacking tree limbs in the compactor inner chamber;
forcibly pushing the tree limbs at regular intervals out of the compactor inner chamber into a storage bin communicating with the compactor inner chamber; and
replacing the storage bin when it is full of compacted tree limbs with an empty storage bin.